


Mentor

by BlueBead



Category: Hyper Light Drifter
Genre: Depictions of injury, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 10:05:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7043788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueBead/pseuds/BlueBead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tired of seeing the Drifter crash into walls when attempting to chain dash, the Dash Master decides to help him hone his skills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mentor

The Dash Master leaned over the counter and glanced into the training room to his left, only to see the red-cloaked drifter careening into a wall yet again. He pressed his face into the palm of his hand and shook his head lightly. The kid had determination, he’d give him that, but the Drifter was not improving very quickly at all.

He pushed himself away from the counter and walked over to the Drifter, who was still dazed and trying, unsuccessfully, to pick himself up off the floor.

 “Alright. Listen, kiddo…” the Dash Master began as he looked down at the young drifter, arms crossed, “How about we take this outside before I’m cleaning blood off the walls again. Shall we?”

The Drifter looked up at him, embarrassed and confused. Like him, the Dash Master was usually the quiet, loner sort. The Drifter thought that he must have misunderstood his offer. He searched the taller figure’s face for any sort of clues. Unfortunately, robots are generally lacking in the facial expression department.

“…You got a concussion or somethin’?” The Dash Master inquired after the Drifter had failed to respond.

The Drifter shook his head, thankful that his face mask hid his face flushing. Interacting with other people, especially strangers, was always uncomfortable for him. He never felt like he knew what to do or say.

The Dash Master offered his hand to help the Drifter up. “C’mon.”

The Drifter got up on his own, but at least the robot’s gesture had made it more obvious that he indeed wanted the Drifter to follow him.

 

* * *

 

Neither of them said a word as they walked, but both of them liked it better that way. Eventually, they reached a wide open area to the West not far from town. It wasn’t far enough that they were likely to be attacked, but the two of them were alert regardless. There was a long cobblestone path that would lead into the forest if followed further. It would make for a great dash runway.

The Dash Master turned to the blueskin and placed his hands on his hips. “Okay, I’m going to teach you how to chain dash… and I mean _successfully_ chain dash. I don’t want to hear about some student of mine getting themself killed because they crashed into a wall at Mach 5 and split their head open like a ripe melon, you hear? Reflects badly on me.”

The Drifter nodded.

“Good. Firstly, I’ve watched you dash, and you posture is terrible,” the Dash Master scoffed, “How’re you supposed to see where you’re going when you’ve got your head down?”

“I’d… rather not break my nose when I crash into something…” the Drifter muttered.

The Dash Master smacked his hand into his face. “The solution to that is to _not crash into walls because you can see where you’re going._ ” He straightened back up. “Pay attention to my posture while I dash, okay?”

The Drifter moved off to the side of the cobblestone path, and the Dash Master checked to see if he was watching before expertly bolting ahead. He lapped back and forth along the path a few times.

The Drifter made note of how it looked like each dash was just one step in a sprint, excluding the fact that each “step” covered several meters on its own and occurred in almost the blink of an eye. The Dash Master still leaned forward into the dash like he did, but he kept his head raised and faced whatever location he was dashing to next. He effortlessly decelerated and glided gracefully to a halt.

“Your turn,” he said, gesturing the Drifter towards one end of the path.

The Drifter’s old habits almost had him looking down at feet again, but he forced himself to look forward. He never realized how _fast_ the scenery flew by him as he dashed. The spike in adrenaline made it feel like his heart had lurched upwards into his throat.

After a few dashes, he tried to turn around to make a lap like the Dash Master had, but his inertia continued to throw him forward. He leaned back and braked hard, digging his heels into the dirt in front of him. He was still skidding forward for a bit even after he landed on his rear.

“Well, that was better,” the Drifter heard from behind him as he dusted himself off. When he turned around, he saw the Dash Master sauntering up to him.

“The next thing we’ll work on is, you guessed it, stopping in a way that doesn’t make you look like an imbecile…”

The Drifter narrowed his eyes at him.

The Dash Master began to elaborate, “If you only dash a few times, you can stop the same, instantaneous way you start a dash. After enough dashes, that becomes more and more difficult to pull off, so it’s generally better to brake. Preferably, in a quick and… controlled manner.”

 

* * *

 

 

Several hours had passed. The Drifter was proud of how much he had improved in a single day. His dashes were more controlled, he could make sharper turns, he could keep a continuous chain of dashes going for longer, and his braking was… well, it was better than when he started, at least.

The Dash Master was impressed too. The Drifter was a fast learner when he had actual guidance, and he was obedient and listened well to instructions to boot. He briefly wondered if this drifter had a mentor when he started drifting, or if he had to learn everything for himself. He certainly hoped it wasn’t the latter, for the kid’s sake. The Dash Master had seen firsthand that learning skills for himself might not be this kid’s forte…

The Drifter looked eager to continue practicing, but the sun was already beginning to set, so the Dash Master called it a day. Reluctantly, the Drifter agreed. However, the Dash Master got an idea.

“How about we race back to town, eh?” The Dash Master challenged. He would’ve had a smirk on his face, if he had a mouth that was capable of such a thing. As much as he had improved today, he was certain that the Drifter wouldn’t be able to beat him, but he wanted to see him try. He wanted to give him a goal; to strive to surpass him.

The Drifter’s eyes lit up with determination and excitement as he nodded. The Dash Master could tell by the slight squint of his eyes that he was smiling.

“I’ll give you a head-start,” the Dash Master said.

The Drifter shot off without missing a beat, and the Master chuckled to himself. The kid had some serious enthusiasm.

He mentally counted out five seconds, and then took off after the Drifter. He was surprised at how difficult it was to catch up with him. In terms of raw speed, the Drifter was quite adept. It was the young drifter’s bad cornering that allowed him gain on the kid. Once he surpassed him, the Dash Master spun around and began to dash backwards. Oh, how he loved to show off.

The Drifter’s resolve burned even brighter, and he pushed himself to his limits. He whipped passed his mentor at breakneck speeds, much to the Dash Master’s surprise. He looked back at the Dash Master to see how far ahead he was. It wasn’t an incredible distance, but he did have a substantial lead.

When the Drifter turned back around, his entire field of view was filled with a solid, white wall. It was one of the ruined buildings that encompassed the outskirts of the town. He didn’t even have enough time to brace for impact.

The Dash Master decelerated to a stop and laughed. “What did I tell you about looking where you’re going?”

…but the Drifter didn’t respond. He laid motionless where he had finally rolled to a standstill after ricocheting off the wall.

An icy feeling of remorse crept up the Dash Master’s back as it dawned on him that the young drifter might be severely injured. He himself was a robot, and he could take quite a beating. Sometimes he forgot that organic beings could be a lot more fragile.

He flitted over to the boy’s side. The Drifter’s eyes were shut and a thin line of blood seeped out from under his helmet. His expression looked tranquil, but in this scenario that only made the Dash Master more worried. He was relieved when he saw that the Drifter was still breathing.

The Dash Master crouched down and laid a hand on the Drifter’s shoulder, giving it a gentle shake. Slowly, the boy regained his senses. His eyes scrunched up in pain as he moved his hand up to rest on his forehead.

“Are you going to be okay?” the Dash Master entreated with a hint of worry evident in his voice. He didn’t have the slightest clue on how first aid worked for organics.

“…What happened?” the Drifter asked groggily.

“Do you remember that ‘ _crash into a wall at Mach 5_ ’ thing I mentioned earlier today? Because that is exactly what happened.”

The Drifter made a small sound of acknowledgment before propping himself up into a sitting position. His vision blurred and his head spun. He rubbed his eyes and groaned.

“Am I going to have to carry your ass home?” the Dash Master asked, his usual satirical personality returning as he got the vibe that things weren’t as dire as he had worried.

“No, no…” The Drifter stammered, “Just… might need a minute… and, uh… I might need some support walking. Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it.” The Dash Master assured, giving the young drifter some time to get his bearings.

After a brief moment of silence, the Drifter chuckled faintly. “So... Which one of us won then?”

“I’m not sure, but I at least know for certain that your face lost.”

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, thanks to the Hyper Light Drifter Skype Group for giving me cool writing prompts!
> 
> Also, you have no idea how badly I wanted to refer to the Dash Master as "Sass Master"...


End file.
